


He needs me.

by RamonaFlowers98



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCEU, DCU, Suicide Squad (2016)
Genre: F/M, Oneshot, lyrics, prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-06
Updated: 2016-09-06
Packaged: 2018-08-13 09:38:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7972072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RamonaFlowers98/pseuds/RamonaFlowers98
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"And all at once I knew <br/>I knew at once<br/> I knew he needed me <br/>Until the day I die<br/>I wonder why <br/>I knew he needed me<br/> It could be fantasy oh oh <br/>or maybe it's because..."<br/>This story takes place during suicide squad and is based on the song "He Needs Me" by Shelley Duvall.</p>
            </blockquote>





	He needs me.

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wanted this fic to be based on btas joker x harley, but I shelved the original version and decided to do it ayer-verse joker x harley. In order to accommodate the same sort of concept though, I had to make their relationship a little darker and imbalanced with some implied abuse, despite the fact I actually prefer their healthier, more equal suicide squad portrayal. This fic is also an exploration of Harley's state of mind during suicide squad and the flashbacks/blackouts she appears to suffer from (presumably from electroshock therapy). Hope you guys enjoy.

"Puddin', I can't swim!"

Those were her last words before his car crashed through the barrier and into the water. Her whole body flew forward through the windshield, but by some miracle she had survived. 

Batman had dragged her wet, limp body out of the river and onto the bonnet of his car; he performed CPR and she thanked him with a kiss, though he didn't really seem to appreciate it. Harley figured he was still mad about the whole robin thing.  


"Jeez, lighten up, bat brain!" She cackled as he pushed her away, slamming her head into the car by her neck. 

And then he looked at her funny. It was a mixture of pain and pity and some other emotion she hadn't seen the Bat display before. 

"Why did you do it, Harleen? Why throw everything away for him?" 

"For once... for once in life, I finally felt that someone needed me." Her expression briefly seriously before her usual crazy smile returned. 

Unable to walk, he carried her to his batmobile, she presumed to haul her into Arkham. The blinding pain in her head suddenly increased by the blow she had suffered by Batman's hand, she began to hear a familiar ringing in her ears, the world around her spinning, shapes and colours finally contorting into darkness as she passed out in The Batman's arms. 

~

"Just tell us where he is, Quinn."  


Voices were fading in and out, colours were changing and merging and she couldn't make sense of what was going on around her anymore.

"Da da da da da dum da da..." She sang to herself, hugging her knees to her chest while rocking back and forth in the corner.

"He doesn't care about you, Harleen! He used you!" The interrogator slammed his fist against the wall.

"He needs me, he needs me, he needs me, he needs me..." she muttered to herself, over and over. 

~

"And all at once I knew, I knew at once, I knew he needed me." She sang; her voice echoed around the maximum security cell she had been placed in. She laughed manically to herself, spinning so gracefully around the material that hung from her cage. 

"Until the day I die, I wonder why, I knew he needed-"

"You gonna come down from there or what?"

Her head snapped forward and she suppressed the shiver his voice had sent down her spine. 

She composed herself, giggling sweetly, and bounced on over to greet the friendly guard. 

"You know the rules, hotness. You gotta keep off these bars." He tutted. 

She hated him calling her that. She defied him and licked a long stripe up the bar on her cage door. 

"Man, I love you. You're a whole lot of pretty but a whole lot of crazy, lady." 

She turned her back on him and laughed. He was gonna pay for all this. All the name calling, all the harassment. He was gonna pay. 

"Mistah J ain't gonna be happy with you when I tell him all about my stay here."

Now it was his turn to laugh. "When? When you tell him? There's no way you're getting out of here, girlie. It's gonna be my job to keep you here til the day you die."

Looking back at him, she recoiled at the thought of spending forever here, with him. A part of her almost believed the things he'd said. It had been 6 months since they'd exiled her here to this damned swamp. In the beginning she'd kept track of time by tallying the days with tattoos on her thigh. Each day spent without her puddin' was just another step away from sanity and after 4 months she'd decided to stop counting altogether and just let the madness consume her. Attacking guards, disregarding rules, refusing food. There was no point to anything without him. 

But a bigger part of her knew that this wouldn't be forever. Her puddin' would come for her, he would! He's just taking his damn time is all.

"All this time you've been rotting in your cell, he hasn't been looking for you." He taunted her, a sadistic grin on his face.

"You're not allowed to talk about Mistah J like that." She clenched her fist with rage. 

"Everyone knows he smacks you around too." He chuckled darkly. 

She skipped over towards the bars again and bat her lashes at him. 

"Why don't you come in here and tell me that?" The grin on his face disappeared. 

"I bet you're too scared." She teased. "I'm bored. Play with me."

"You put five of my men in the hospital, honey. No one's gonna play with you. Definitely not Mister J." 

She flew into a rage and grabbed him through the bars, ready to rip him to shreds when a zap suddenly sent through her whole body threw her backwards into her cell and on the floor, her head colliding with the concrete. 

"Why do you do it, huh? Why do you still protect him? You tell us where his hideout is and you get years off your sentence easily. He left you for dead, Harley-girl. Why do you still do it?" He said, asking one final question before the swirling, prismatic madness inevitably swallowed her and rendered her catatonic. 

"Because... He needs me, he needs me, he needs me, he needs me..."

~

Gunfire from all angles, explosions and fire everywhere, she took shelter behind a vent with Deadshot, put her fingers in her ears and pretended it wasn't happening. He stared at her in disbelief. 

"What, I got a hickey or somethin'?"

Suddenly, her phone buzzed and her face lit up at the notification. He was here! He had come for her! Finally! 

"Are you crazy?!" He shouted. 

"Duh!" She beamed.

"Waller could still finish you, why take the chance?" He called to her, she was already taking her jacket off ready to make a run for it. 

"It’s like a dime a dance, I’ll take a chance, I will, because he needs me!" She gave him one last apologetic look before throwing herself off the roof, expertly catching onto the rope, laughing and twirling around it, giving her pals a final wave before the joker pulled her up onto the helicopter. 

"Puddin'!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck and embracing him with a big kiss. He purred loudly and pulled her closer. 

"You got all dressed up for me?" She squeed; he knew how much this suit in particular drove her crazy. 

"Oh, you know I'd do anything for you." He cooed. Stupid guard was wrong, she thought to herself, my puddin' does love me, he does!

"Daddy's sorry he didn't come earlier, pumpkin, and that the bad people forced you to be a good girl." He said in a childish voice, stroking her hair to console her.

"They just used me." She pouted. "They never needed me."

"But I do." He whispered into his ear. 

"But he does!" One of the many voices in her head replied. 

"Boss, we got a problem!" Frost called out, moments before a huge ball of fire hit the chopper directly.

"This bird is baked." The Joker gulped. "Okay, honey. It's me and you."

"Let's do it!"

Seconds before the final blast hit the helicopter, the Joker made a decision and pushed Harley backwards out of the aircraft and safely onto a nearby roof.  
Stumbling, she quickly regained her balance just in time to see the helicopter crash into a ball of flames, most definitely incinerating everyone inside.

For the first time in a very long time, there were no swirling colours, no distortion, no nothing. 

Crystal clear. She saw with perfect clarity. 

Her puddin' was gone. 

~

Waller had shaved time off her sentence, as she had promised, but Harley had a few other demands as well. Firstly, that sonofabitch guard was to never come near her ever again. Secondly, she had requested a record player and vinyl, a very specific vinyl at that. 

"Maybe it’s because he’s so alone. Maybe it’s because he’s never had a home..." She whimpered as she sang along. She hadn't stopped thinking about him since he'd died trying to save her. 

A sudden blast interrupted her music, and she gave a shriek before taking cover beside her bed. Multiple gun shots were fired, sparks flew everywhere as a saw cut through the cell bars like butter. 

A masked figure slowly stepped into her cell, he took off his helmet and her heart stopped. Was he really there? Or had her hallucinations returned? 

She decided he must be real and launched herself at him, squealing with delight as she wrapped her legs around his waist and buried her face in his neck. 

"Let's go home."


End file.
